ONE MAN’S BATTLE WITH OBESITY

Fitness director has a plan to make America healthy

By 2030, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that 43 percent of Americans will be obese. More than one-tenth will be at least 100 pounds overweight.

So are we going to order the cheese supreme and take this sitting down? Not if Armando Chavez has anything to say about it. He’s fitness director for Larry North Fitness in Dallas.

“I’m passionate about this,” Chavez says of his determination to get people fit. He sends health and fitness tips to thousands via his Twitter and Facebook accounts, plus offers some ideas to help America defy the CDC prediction:

• Lead by example. Today’s kids will be the adults of 2030, so their moms and dads need to be eating healthy now. “If you try to feed your kid healthy food and you’re eating fast food, then you just set the worst example possible,” Chavez says. “If you set the correct example, your child won’t crave such food.”

• Think of healthy food as the norm. Avoid calling it “bad food” or “good food.” It’s food, it’s fresh, it’s delicious, and it’s what will make you healthy. As a parent, “don’t tell your kids, ‘This is bad,’ because they’ll want to try it,” he says.

• Skip diets that cut out categories of food. “All those crazy Slim-Fast, Atkins, South Beach diets don’t work,” Chavez says. “They don’t work because they take out something your body needs. Low carb. High protein. No fat. They’re good for the short term but not the long term.”

• Remember that working out needn’t take hours. “Most people think you have to exercise for hours and hours to get fit,” he says. “You can work out 30 minutes, and that would be sufficient, depending on your goal.”

• Be efficient in your routine. Instead of doing calf raises, which work only your calf muscles, or curls, which work only your biceps, aim for compound movements like a seated row, squats or lunges. “Using more muscles requires more energy, and with that, you lose body fat faster,” he says.

• Get the community involved. Fitness festivals are fine, but Chavez recommends more ongoing efforts. “We have to find ways to develop retention on a more massive scale,” he says. Start small; meet a friend regularly for a walk or workout.

• Emphasize the good taste of nutritious food more than that of processed food. “Show Americans healthy food choices and how to prepare them,” he writes. “Show the benefits of how it will affect their own personal well-being.”

• Get athletes behind a healthy-eating campaign. Let kids know that fresh and nutritious food is part of being a good athlete, he says. “Kids will think it’s cool to eat certain healthy foods,” Chavez says. “That has never been done.”